The Great Merchant Kim Man Deok depicts the life of Kim Man Deok (Lee Mi-Yeon), a woman born on Jeju Island who transcended her lowly status as a gisaeng as well as the restraints of her birthplace, considered at the time to be a remote place of exile, to become a successful female merchant in the Joseon Era. She later became a famous model of virtue and nobility when she donated all her assets to aid the residents of Jeju during a famine, saving countless lives.